The present invention relates generally to video games and, more particularly, relates to a system and method for transferring user-defined instructions between a home video game and an arcade (coin-operated) video game.
Many video games include a home version and an arcade version. Heretofore, a barrier has essentially existed between the home video game and corresponding arcade video game. While a player could play both the home and arcade video games, the games themselves have largely remained separate from each other.
In an attempt to bridge the barrier between home and arcade video games, U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,930 to Sato proposes a game system comprising a home video game and a commercial video game. The home game is played and the ability of a character which appears in the game is calculated and set with the progress of the game. The ability of the character calculated and set in the home video game is input to a corresponding commercial video game as the initial ability data of the character which appears in the commercial game. If the video game is a role playing game, the character ability of a hero in the role playing game can consist of power traits such as physical strength, intellect, life force, and agility and non-power items such as experience points, personal effects, and money for buying personal effects. If the video game is a simulation game such as baseball, the character ability of a baseball player in the baseball game can consist of batting average, defensive power, running power, fatigue degree, pitching power, etc. If the video game is a driving game, the character ability of a racing car in the driving game can consist of the car""s body, suspension, steering wheel, engine, tire, fuel tank capacity, etc.
A drawback of the Sato patent is that it merely proposes the transfer of character ability data between the home video game and the corresponding arcade video game. The transfer of such a limited amount of information between the home and arcade games provides only a minimally useful link between the home and arcade games. A need therefore exists for a system and method for transferring more than just character ability data between home and arcade video games.
To that end, the present invention provides a system and method for transferring user-defined instructions between a home video game and a corresponding arcade (coin-operated) video game. The home video game includes a home game control unit, a home game user controller, and a home game display. The home game user controller and the home game display are connected to the home game control unit. The home game control unit executes a home game program to create a visual representation on the home game 11 display. The home game user controller is operated by a home game user to cause the home game control unit to vary the visual representation on the home game display. Likewise, the arcade video game includes an arcade game control unit, an arcade game user controller, and an arcade game display. The arcade game user controller and the arcade game display are connected to the arcade game control unit. The arcade game control unit executes an arcade game program to create a visual representation on the arcade game display. The arcade game user controller is operated by an arcade game user to cause the arcade game control unit to vary the visual representation on the arcade game display.
To allow for the transfer of user-defined instructions between the home and arcade video games, there is provided a memory device capable of being connected to both the home game control unit and the arcade game control unit. The memory device is preferably in the form of a memory cartridge, memory card, or floppy/hard disk adapted to be inserted into connectors provided by the home and arcade video games. To transfer the user-defined instructions from the home video game to the arcade video game, the memory device is first connected to the home game control unit. Then, the home game user operates the home game user controller to enter the user-defined instructions into the home game control unit and to cause the home game control unit to load the user-defined instructions into the memory device. In the case of a sports game such as football involving plays in which video players line up in a predefined formation and then run predefined routes out of that formation after the football is snapped, the user-defined instructions may include a user-defined sports play directing the positioning and movement of the video players. The memory device can then be taken to and connected to the arcade game control unit. The arcade game user operates the arcade game user controller to cause the arcade game control unit to load the user-defined instructions from the memory device. The arcade game user can then employ the user-defined instructions in the play of the arcade video game. It is contemplated that user-defined instructions may be transferred from the arcade video game to the corresponding home video game in the same manner as such instructions are transferred from the home video game to the arcade video game.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to represent each embodiment, or every aspect of the present invention. This is the purpose of the figures and detailed description which follow.